Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 2/12/11

The 2010 Census results for Maryland were released this week. Rockville Central has been a Media Partner throughout the process so we’re excited to see the results.

About ROCK’burb: Last year we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I decided to give it a try. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

Redgate Management, School Portables and Business Relations At The Mayor And Council Meeting 2/17/11

The Mayor and Council Meeting was officially over at 9:54 PM last night which is actually very early. Here are some highlights to keep you informed.

Socially-Responsible Investments

At the request of the Human Rights Commission, the City will be pursuing more socially responsible investments. HRC asked the City to look into a divestment policy pertaining to Sudan. City Manager Scout Ullery reported that staff reviewed State law and County ordinances but they only address actively-managed accounts which does not present an issue for the City. The Retirement Board will consider the issue at their February 18th meeting and come forward with recommendation.

The Rockville Chamber of Commerce gave a quick update including:

• Rockville Rewards Card has over 70 businesses participating for weekly and daily specials to help 15 nonprofits in the City. You can still purchase one.
• Sign Ordinance met with City Staff about recommendations for changes, gathering comments from members and working with Sign Review Committee.
• They have already started to plan the Taste of Rockville for Hometown Holidays.

Compensation Commission

Former Mayor James Coyle was reappointment as member until 2014 and Tom Moore was appointed as Chair until 2012. Congratulations to them both!

Guess What? We Need More Salt!

I’m sure it is not a surprise but all the ice means we’re using a lot of salt this year. The Mayor and Council approved a purchase up to $86,500 from the Eastern Salt Company, Inc. under a cooperative contract with Montgomery County. International Salt was unable to respond quickly enough to help meet the demand which would have been within the City Manager’s approval authority. It’s been that kind of winter.

Portable Classrooms Policy With MCPS

The City Manager asked the Mayor and Council to approve the policy on the placement of portables by Montgomery County Public Schools so it can be finalized. The policy was sent to MCPS and James Song, Director of Department of Facilities Management, commented.

The three points made by Mr. Song were:

1. MCPS doesn’t want to produce traffic reports for more than six portables so traffic reports would not be required no matter how many portables are added.
2. MCPS needed clarification of what the term “significant trees” meant.
3. MCPS emphasized that they can, through the mandatory referral process, chose not to comply with any part of the zoning ordinance.

During the discussion, Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio seemed dismayed that Mr. Song believed it would be premature to drop the proposed State bill MC11-11 even though MCPS and the City have been positively working together on a process for the placement of portable classrooms in the City limits.

The Staff recommended adjusting the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) in respect to the fire response standard and move forward to develop an agreement for new school construction, additions and remodeling.

The Mayor and Council unanimously agreed to direct the City Staff to proceed as requested by Mr. Ullery.

Hopefully MCPS officials and City staff will continue to develop a better working relationship as we go forward with all the projects necessary to alleviate our school overcrowding.

Community—Business Communication

Councilmember John Britton encouraged ongoing communication through an annual gathering or summit. REDI and the Chamber have agreed to participate in a forum to discuss ideas and he hopes at least 150 people representing a cross-section of the community would participate. About 15 years ago, the City had a half-day business summit and this is an idea to “come around again”.

The Mayor and Council directed the City Staff to identify the core planners, which should not just be Staff but also REDI, Chamber, and Councilmember Britton to begin planning the event. Staff will return to the Mayor and Council with a proposed plan for the Summit in order to secure feedback and support before implementation.

Redgate Golf Course

With two motions, the Mayor and Council voted to keep all their options open, which means they did not make a decision as to the exact course of action involving the management of the Redgate Golf Course.

The NGF recommendation was to outsource the golf course operation, which is the prevalent type of arrangement in the golf industry at this time and this is estimated to be approximately $120,000 per year.

The motion eventually passed by the Mayor and Council was made by Councilmember Bridget Newton and it followed the staff’s recommendation and contract with NGF for consulting services to development an RFP. The RFP will include a management services option but it also included an option to lease the Redgate Golf Course which was not supported by NGF. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Britton and passed unanimously. The fee to the NGF to develop the RFP would be approximately $6,000.

Councilmember Newton also made a motion to engage NGF for advice on establishing a new director of golf staff position, which was seconded by Councilmember Britton. The motion passed 3 to 2. Councilmember Mark Pierzchala disagreed because if you go with a management company then you don’t need a director of golf. Councilmember Piotr Gajewski could not support the motion without knowing the cost involved.

With these votes, the Mayor and Council could receive many proposals for outsourcing management, leasing the course, and hiring a new director. A decision still needs to be made.

The next meeting of the Mayor and Council is Monday, February 14, 2011.

Rockville’s “Pike” Dream [UPDATED]

At last month’s community meeting, Gianni Longo, the consultant who worked on the draft Envision Report for Rockville Pike, asked “Do you share with me the feeling that this is an exciting thing?” After showing a picture of Barcelona’s Passeig de Gracia, he emphasized that Rockville could have such a time-tested place. The multi-way boulevard was invented 100 years ago to separate local and through traffic. Such a boulevard would have a “WOW” factor as a special place while keeping Rockville Pike viable and improving mobility.

Looking back, Rockville Pike was two lanes then four, then the Metro came along and you have the traffic-packed Pike of today. The adoption of the Envision Plan concepts along with the implementation of congestion management strategies and partnerships with property owners could lead to quality development over time.

But what does this mean for local businesses? In the short term, not much. This is a plan to be implemented over the next few decades. When the economic situation improves, Mr. Longo insisted “Doing nothing is not an alternative” because traffic on the Pike is at critical volume. One local business owner on Rockville Pike asked me if I’d gone to the unveiling of the Envision Report. She was concerned because the owner of her building said they would redevelop the site in line with the new vision. I’m sure there are many other business owners who are anxious about the process after investing in the infrastructure for their current location.

Others have expressed a fear at losing the special shops and stores on the Pike. Rents will certainly be higher for businesses in new mixed-use developments like Town Center. But change is going to happen and the City wants your opinion on how we should guide it.

On Wednesday, February 9, 2011, at 7 PM in City Hall, a public meeting will be held by the Planning Commission and there will continue to be many ways to respond about the draft plan.

What on earth is the District Form Code in this Envision Report?

It would regulate building in the Rockville Pike corridor in a new way. The meeting next week will include a presentation on the form code as well as a question-and-answer session. The meeting will be broadcast on Rockville Channel 11 and available on the City’s website after the presentation.

The Form Code is a vision, a way to insure a specific form we want the Pike to take. There is less of a focus on land use and more of a focus on the design of the buildings along each street, so that building facades will be consistent and the buildings will relate to each other. The Code will have all the elements found in a master plan but each will be determined by the type of street.

Where should the Bus Rapid Transitway be located?

During the community meeting, Joel Mann from AECOM explained the bike-transit lane proposal. From curb to curb the Pike would be the same as it is now with added access roads on the sides. The idea is to bring transit as close as possible to the retail. During the question and answer segment, Nancy Breen said the Bike Advisory Committee had discussed the use of a duel bike-bus lane and felt the professional bus drivers would be on a predictable schedule so it could work.

[UPDATED] To our south, the White Flint Sector plan uses contains two transitway options - #1 is side lanes and #2 is a center lane. so the draft Envision Report is not compatible. The City Staff are keeping an eye on the process. Obviously a consistent vision will have to be adopted for this State road before any improvements can be made across jurisdictions.

[UPDATE: The White Flint Partnership hired their own consultants and are advocating for center lanes but Montgomery County's Park and Planning originally had "bus priority lanes" on the sides. Below is a view of the two options in the White Flint Sector Plan.]

Here’s how the White Flint Partnership described the plan on our City’s borders in Center lane BRT is best bet for White Flint-Rockville Pike Corridor :

The White Flint 21st century boulevard concept provides a center lane dedicated transitway separating rapid transit vehicles and their ridership from negative vehicular movements, traffic accidents and needed emergency vehicles at the same time providing pedestrians a safe haven as they cross the Boulevard.

What else is proposed for traffic?

Let’s face it, most people are not going to get out of their cars. The draft Envision Report includes ideas about extending the traffic grid as an alternative to the Pike. An extension along Jefferson Street on the west side is the best possibility in the south section. Connectivity with the Twinbrook Metro would be important since the surrounding area would anchor the development. Smaller main streets would allow parking by businesses with side streets providing access to parking garages.

How can I give the City my opinion?

There are three ways to present testimony to the Planning Commission:

In writing, by letter addressed to the City of Rockville Planning Commission, c/o Long Range Planning, CPDS, 111 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Md., 20850. Please include your name, address and, if applicable, affiliation.

By e-mail to [email protected] Please include your name, address and, if applicable, affiliation.

In person, at the Planning Commission Public Hearing, on Wednesday, March 9, at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 111 Maryland Avenue.

What kind of Pike do you want in the future? Nows the time to tell our officials.

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 1-29-11

The consultants, ROI/CRC did not work to improve their lackluster, wordy, and unoriginal logo & tagline ideas for the City’s branding effort after the survey results were tabulated. As a matter of fact, as Brad Rourke pointed out in his opinion piece this week, when they first came up the their ideas, they “simply pointed out that there was little consensus among people and that they had seemingly false impressions of where they live.” We paid them $75,000 to ignore us. We don’t know where we live? Anyway, at the Mayor and Council meeting a majority voted for the least favorite choice from the survey results. The rest of the DC area is having a good time ridiculing the options and our choice.

About ROCK’burb: Last year we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I decided to give it a try. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

POTD: Death Ray Veiled

Another cool one by Cindy Cotte Griffiths. “At this very moment they are covering the death ray windows. I don’t have a contact at the GSA but i really want to find out what they are doing! Is this the solution?”

POTD: Amphibian On Ice

This one is by editor Cindy Cotte Griffiths. Of it,she says: “He can’t read the “NO SKATING” sign. We caught this little frog fellow at Stoneridge Pond during his slippery journey. Once you get out to the middle, there really is no turning back.” Indeed.

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 1/22/11

The Mayor and Council reversed themselves regarding their support of the Corridor City Transitway (CCT) route through King Farm, even though the right-of-way was established before King Farm was built and the Maryland Transit Authority offered solutions to the connectivity and noise concerns.

About ROCK’burb: Last year we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I decided to give it a try. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

What’s In And What’s Out In Rockville

It’s that time of year again. Time to reflect and remember. What’s better than a traditional In and Out list?

My family has been throwing around ideas for a few days and here’s ours for 2010-2011:

Thanks to my husband and sons for helping me and making it fun. We’re sure there are more!

Happy New Year!

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 12/23/10

Here’s hoping!

This week’s strip is based on “Possible New Grocery Store In Town Square“.

May you have an amusing New Year!

About ROCK’burb: A few months ago we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I’ve been imagining them in my head each week. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

Celeste’s Journey Completes City Hall Artwork

Ali and Bonnie With Celeste. Photo by Stepanie Fitzgerald

The second part of Rockville’s newest work of art, the Spirit of Discovery, was installed on the lawn of City Hall last Thursday, December 16, 2010. The snow storm made the drive from Northern Virginia slightly precarious, but artists Bonnie Fitzgerald and Ali Mirsky carefully navigated the truck around the Beltway from Bonnie’s studio in Vienna to complete the artwork on schedule.

Celeste In Place For Transport. Photo by Stephanie Fitzgerald.

Celeste Being Carried. Photo by Stephanie Fitzgerald.

Celeste Arrives In Front of City Hall. Photo by Stephanie Fitzgerald

If you have seen the 170-square-foot glass mosaic depicting a spinning nebula on the facade of City Hall which was installed last month, you might not have realized the Spirit of Discovery was not complete. The artwork is comprised of two separate but connected pieces. In the garden area below the mosaic, a sculpture of a young girl now looks up at the nebula through a telescope. The artists named her “Celeste”. She weighs about 350 pounds and has a welded armature with a unique polystyrene sculpted base coated in several coats of concrete covered by pieces of glass. She looks to the future with an old-fashioned telescope - a salute to the past and discovery in the future.

Celeste Complete. Photo by Stephanie Fitzgerald.

Bonnie explains what the artists hope we will take away from viewing the artwork:

Rockville was founded and built in the spirit of discovery. Every time you look at the installation it looks different, always something new to discover about the artwork. Because of the materials we used the reflection will always be different. Hopefully Celeste inspires an interest in science and an interest in embracing discovery. Ideally a passerby would be able to admire the artwork solely based on the quality of the art, the colors and the sculptural form, which we feel is easily relatable. This is not conceptual art, the message is simple and the sculptural form really helps paint that picture, regardless if the viewer knows the mural is a nebula. It is contemporary art. There is a story; it speaks to the past and present, but regardless if you know the story or not, one will still be able to enjoy the intricate details and beautiful colors of the mosaic. We hope that our work will intrigue the viewer and cause them to take a moment to pause and absorb the artwork.

Celeste Standing. Photo by Cindy Cotte Griffiths

When Ali and Bonnie originally presented the installation concept for Spirit of Discovery to the Art Commission they used the tag line:

Rockville: where opportunity and discovery intersect

Since the Spirit of Discovery was commissioned to commemorate all of the City’s 150 incorporated years, the artists took a thorough and creative look at Rockville, as Bonnie explains:

After a lot of research into Rockville’s past and present we learned Rockville has always been a place of great opportunity. And needless to say there are countless “things” to discover about Rockville, from interesting people to physical beauty, cultural activities, a commitment to education and community - just to name a few.

With this tag line, these artists might have solved our branding quandary which they couldn’t help but notice and would like to help resolve.

Telescope. Photo by Cindy Cotte Griffiths.

Now that the installation is complete, Bonnie admits to missing the work. Perhaps this is why the artists are toying with the idea of continuing their work with Celeste by creating an interactive social media presence so that Celeste could give science lessons or talk about outer space. If such a project involved local schools, kids could be inspired beyond her physical space at City Hall. In my mind, I could see such a project involving the Science Café and the effort to build a Science Center in Rockville. If Rockville Central can help, we’d be all over it!

Celeste Finally At Home. Photo by Stephanie Fitzgerald.

Celeste is certainly a welcome addition to the City of Rockville and I look forward to discovering with her in the future.

Editorial Opinion By Cindy Cotte Griffiths: Questions Arise About The APFO Committee

APFO Committee Members present during the Planning Commission Appointments On Wednesday.

If you want to find out who was appointed to the Rockville Planning Commissions Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) Advisory Committee, you need to listen to the video from the Wednesday, December 15, 2010 meeting. The list of who will be appointed was not on the Agenda for the meeting nor has it been posted anywhere on the City’s website.

Surprisingly, before the nine members were appointed on Wednesday night, an article was published in Wednesday’s edition of The Gazette and it appeared online with the lede:

The Rockville Planning Commission had tasked nine people with reviewing one of its most controversial zoning ordinances.

The members of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance Committee will officially be announced at the Planning Commission’s meeting today. The list includes business, non-profit and neighborhood representatives.

(The grammatical error is The Gazette’s, not mine.) The article includes the names of who will be appointed later in the day.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Planning Commission David Hill admitted to providing the information about the appointments to The Gazette on Monday so that they could publish in their paper version on Wednesday. He also emailed the information to the Mayor and Council on Monday.

So my first question is, why does The Gazette get such privilege over all the other news providers?

My second question is, why can’t I find the names of who was appointed anywhere except for this news article? The names are still not on the Planning Commission section of the City’s website. Why weren’t they included on the Agenda for Wednesday’s meeting if they were sent to a news outlet on Monday? Shouldn’t the citizens have the information first – before a newspaper?

After repeated attempts throughout the years, The Gazette still does not deliver to my house. Many of my neighbors in apartments don’t get it either. This obviously is not the way to communicate with residents.

I hope The Gazette spelled their names correctly because I have no way of officially knowing:

Jason Anthony
Temperance Blalock
Denis Cain
Julie Carr
Sean Hart
Soo Lee-Cho
Charles Littlefield
Roald Schrack
Eric Segal

During Citizen’s Forum at Monday night’s Mayor and Council meeting, Beryl Feinberg spoke about her application for the APFO Committee. She said that no one who applied was ever contacted or interviewed about their application. She was only contacted to be told she was not selected. She knew that there would be seven (7) male and three (3) female members chosen, including one reserve. Since Rockville’s population is roughly 50-50 male-female, she didn’t think the Committee was inclusive or reflective of our population.

Councilmember John Britton responded by asking for copies of the resumes and applications of all the applicants knowing that it is privileged information. Due to Ms. Feinberg’s remarks, he was curious about the ethnic, gender and geographic breakdown.

Councilmember Piotr Gajewski used his response to Citizen’s Forum to explain his position on the Committee:

I’m sure you’re not going to be the last to complain about the composition of this Committee which is the problem I have with the forming of this Committee to begin with. APFO is arguably one of the most inflammatory issues that our City will be facing. I think it should be faced by elected officials at the very least it should be faced by officials appointed by elected officials.

Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio reminded everyone that it was within the privilege of the Planning Commission to appoint a subcommittee. The Mayor and Council had absolutely no input. The Planning Commission will eventually make recommendations to the Mayor and Council for a decision. She added:

I think it’s a process that maybe is flawed in some ways. I don’t think that anyone had the intention of slighting a soul. I think they were just looking for more help and this was one way to do it. Sometimes when you mean to do well, you do poorly. Let’s hope it results in something we can positively use.

I’ve been told that originally only 11 people applied for the 9 positions which is why the deadline was extended and about 21 applications were eventually received.

Regardless of these concerns, the Planning Commission seems pleased with their selections.

During Wednesday night’s meeting the Planning Commission decided the Advisory Committee’s start date will be January 2, 2011 and they must report to the Planning Commission by their first meeting in July.

Commissioner John Tyner reminded the representatives that their first chore is to elect a Chair to keep the meetings moving on schedule.

Offering all the Commissioners as a resource, Tracy Pakulniewicz advised the Task Force that they can contact them with questions in addition to asking City staff because “it is a pretty hefty task that you’re being charged with and we want to make sure you have all the information, all of the insight you need to effectively and efficiently do your job.”

Mr. Tyner added “You won’t be left hanging out in the breeze. That’s for sure.”

Help And Save With A Rockville Rewards Card

Yesterday I purchased my Rockville Rewards card from Community Ministries of Rockville. This new program designed by the Rockville Chamber of Commerce as part of the Buy Rockville campaign “combats the increased needs in our community”.

Simply put, you can purchase a card for $25 from one of the nonprofit organizations (or local businesses selling them on behalf of the organizations), then use the card for discounts and deals. The cards are currently valid until June 30, 2011 so the sooner you purchase one the longer you can enjoy the benefits.

Everyday Rewards categories include Business to Business, Events, Health & Beauty, Food & Drink, Retail, Services, and Activities. All you have to do is present your card. Here are some examples of the savings:

• Talk of the Town – 10% off any party rental, excluding entertainers & performers.
• Acqua Nails – 10% off any service, until 02/15/11.
• VisArts at Rockville – VisArts Too – 10% off any item
• Bark! Pawsitive Petfood – Bark! Pawsitive Petfood in Congressional Plaza. $5.00 off your first purchase of $25.00 or more!

If you’re into dining out, these are deals:

• The Bean Bag Deli & Catering Company – Come in to The Bean Bag deli & Catering Co for Breakfast or Lunch Mon-Sat. and receive 10% off your in-store order. Excludes delivery orders.
• Ben & Jerry’s of Rockville – 15% off of any scooped cone, sundae, shake, mash, smoothie or coffee ‘Joe’ drink. Also $3.00 off any ice cream or yogurt, handpacked cake.
• Cake Dreams – 10% discount on cupcake and basic cake purchases. Excludes custom cakes and cupcakes.
• Gordon Biersch – 10% off total check, excluding alcohol.
• Il Pinito – 20% off total check. Dine in only. Not valid with any other offers. One card per table.
• Jackie’s Wine Club – From 4-7 p.m. daily, enjoy 15% off!
• Lola’s Cafe & Bakery - From 3-7 p.m. daily, enjoy 15% off!
• Oro Pomodoro Pizzeria Ristorante – Get 10% off entire check excluding alcohol. Valid for Lunch & Dinner Dine-In only. Not valid on Fridays & Saturdays. Cannot be combined with other offers.
• The Potomac Grill – 25% of total check up to $20 dollar maximum discount. Valid 1 card per table, not valid on holidays or New Year’s Eve.
• Potomac Pizza – 10% off dine-in or carry-out purchase. Expires 5/31/11
• Robeks Fruit Smoothies – Buy One Get One Free Smoothie or Frozen Yogurt!
• Timpano Chophouse and Martini Bar – 10% off your total bill when you dine. Offer is valid in our dining room only for lunch or dinner. Offer not valid in the bar & lounge, on holidays, banquets.
• Phillips Seafood: Receive a complimentary appetizer, order two (2) full-priced entrees and present your Rockville Rewards card. All offers subject to black-out dates & availability.

When you register your card online by providing your name, email, and zipcode, you will receive notification of Weekly Hot Deals. Quite frankly, anything hot sounds good to me right now.

The organizations can make up to $25,000 each if they sell all their cards so join me in purchasing one!

Here are the organizations you can help:

The Arc of Montgomery County
Bikes for the World
Child Center and Adult Services
Community Ministries of Rockville
Jobs Unlimited/Upscale Resale Thrift Shop
Literacy Council of Montgomery County
Manna Food Center
Montgomery County Humane Society
Montgomery County Stroke Association
Musical Theater Center
Pain Connection-Chronic Pain Outreach Center
Premier Homecare
Rockville Community Nursery School
Rockville Concert Band
VisArts of Rockville

“Give a little, get a lot.”

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 12-4-10

About ROCK’burb: A few months ago we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I’ve been imagining them in my head each week. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville. As usual, this week’s comic is taken from the headlines, New Courthouse Creates “Death Ray”.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

New Courthouse Creates “Death Ray”

Photo by Cindy Cotte Griffiths

ABC 7/TBD has a news report about our new District Court House. Apparently the south-facing wall of windows reflects the sun to such a high degree that people on the street feel the heat. The reflection is actually burning the people and plants below. Picture a handheld mirror frying ants scurrying around on the ground — but on a much larger scale.

Photo by Cindy Cotte Griffiths

As we know, many in Rockville weren’t happy about the over-sized building in the first place. Now we’re facing the “death ray” on our brightest days.

Rockville City staff with basement offices facing the building have had to add shades on their windows in City Hall due to the glare.

A construction worker brought the situation to the State’s attention. Now the Maryland Department of General Services needs to work with the architect, AECOM, to find a solution. Adding a non-reflective coating to the windows might solve the problem.

Think about the solar possibilities here! Really, this should be a solar-powered building!

Have you noticed the effect of the “death ray” windows?

Trucks, Traffic And China At The Mayor And Council Meeting 11-22-10

This week’s Mayor and Council meeting was so short, it might have been a record when it ended at 9:25 PM. We provide this brief summary of each meeting to keep you informed.

Present: Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio, Councilmembers John Britton, Bridget Newton, and Mark Pierzchala.

City Manager’s Report

Scott Ullery passed along timely and encouraging information from the Maryland Chief of Police Association. Through 2009 the number of people injured in automobile accidents has declined and fatalities are fewer than last year and the year before in Maryland.

The brand new Chamber of Commerce “Rockville Rewards” program launched and we are all encouraged to purchase a card to help 15 area nonprofits. Marketing consultant, Jane Meyer explained the membership cards will offer two types of deals for either everyday savings or more substantive weekly offers from local businesses. Each card is $25 and the details are now available at RockvilleRewards.com.

Appointments

The Mayor and Council appointed Don Hadley to the Planning Commission and John Beins and Marcia L. Rehm to the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board.

Construction and Cars

The expansion of the fitness facilities at the Rockville Senior Center can begin since the Mayor and Council awarded a contract to CFI Construction Corporation of Rockville for $1,917,000.00 for the work. Also eight 2011 Crown Victorias will be purchased for use as police cars at an estimated cost of $24,960 each for a total acquisition of about $199,680.

Rockville Sister City Corporation’s Report from Trip to Jiaxing, China

Former Mayor Jim Coyle, Sister City delegate to Jiaxing, presented the report and recommendations. Jiaxing seems more interested in development and business rather than cultural exchanges. During the discussion, everyone hoped the cultural exchanges would eventually follow so the relationship was worth pursuing. The Sister City Board will draft a letter to be sent to Jiaxing officials asking them to evaluate the current relationship and the steps they would like to take to move the process forward.

Draft Municipal Growth Element (MGE) To Amend the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan

Staff presented the revised document and received final direction on the draft document which will be returned to the Mayor and Council for adoption at the December 6, 2010 meeting. Mayor Marcuccio asked for an explanation because she wanted to make sure that when the Comprehensive Master Plan is reviewed, that this document could be changed. It was explained that this document will become part of the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan. If the Mayor and Council want to amend the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan in the future, they can.

Community Block Grant Application

The Mayor and Council approved allocating grants from the City of Rockville’s Federal CDBG funds through Montgomery County in the anticipated amount of $304,000, including the allowable 15% of the fund amount for public service agencies which is $45,600. Nine different programs at seven agencies applied with grant requests totaled $160,000 but only three could be chosen for the $45,600 possible:

• Rockville Community Ministries, Elderly and Disabilities Ministries $15,600
• Rockville Presbyterian Church, Rainbow Place $15,000
• Stepping Stones Shelter, Evening Case Management Services $15,000

The rest of the funds would be designated as follows:

• Rockville Housing Enterprises (RHE) for public housing improvements at David Scull Court $111,202
• Rockville’s Single-Family Rehabilitation Program and administration $97,198
• Rehabilitation program staffing $50,000

Truck And Neighborhood Traffic Management

The Mayor and Council discussed the Neighborhood Traffic Management and Truck Traffic on Residential Streets. Excessive traffic volumes on residential streets are undesirable and contribute to increased noise, vibration, and air pollution, in addition to possible deterioration of the streets themselves.

Since the Traffic and Transportation Commission has not reviewed the existing Guidelines for Neighborhood Traffic Management since 2005 when they unanimously agreed that they are adequate and follow national standards, the Mayor and Council decided to have the Traffic and Transportation Commission take another look at the policy.
Councilmember Pierzchala asked for an explanation on the authority of the Mayor and Council with regards to traffic restrictions. They can put truck restrictions on any road.

Councilmember Newton believes there is a right to review the truck use on Great Falls Road regardless of any decisions made when the road went from State to City control. She also believes truck restrictions should be placed on West Montgomery and Redland. Truck traffic on Maryland Avenue makes more sense since far fewer houses face the street, although she is not suggesting Maryland Avenue get truck traffic. She wants all the street traffic in the City reviewed.

Surprisingly, on the map used for the meeting, a section of Great Falls Road was shown to restrict trucks already, so this map designation will be investigated.

Mayor Marcuccio expressed concerns about traffic on Park Road.

City Staff Emad Elshafei pointed out that if truck restrictions were placed on Redland, Great Falls, Maryland, and West Montgomery, we would not be allowing trucks in the City. Councilmember Newton said trucks could use Gude Drive or Key West and go around to Rt. 355.

Councilmember Pierzchala pointed out Gude Drive is abutted by three neighborhoods even though you can’t see them from the street. Residents experience the noise. With the Great Seneca development, Gude will be receiving more traffic in the future. Councilmember Newton said homes don’t front Gude as they do on other streets where they need to enter the street. Councilmember Pierzchala reemphasized that even so, Gude has its own considerations.

City Manager Ullery reviewed the four decisions made during the discussion:

(1.) The Traffic and Transportation Commission will take a look at the Guidelines since it has been five years. (2.) Since traffic issues involve enforcement, the Chief of Police will be contacted to determine areas to target for enforcement. (3.) Additional streets will be tested to determine their current thresholds for traffic. (4.) The agreement and requirements on Great Falls Road will be investigated.

The November 29th meeting has been cancelled so the next Mayor and Council Meeting is Monday, December 6, 2010 at 7 PM with a Public Hearing on the FY 12 Budget.